Latest world news. Hamas, many hostages probably killed recently. Media: 'Wide wave of Israeli air raids on Hezbollah'

The US did not carry out any new raids today against the Houthis in Yemen. This was reported by a senior Pentagon official. "No new attacks by the US or the coalition," he reported.

The Israeli army today killed two Palestinians in the West Bank who were trying to break through a checkpoint, bringing the toll today to three. According to the army, soldiers chased a car that had broken through a checkpoint near the city of Hebron, "shot at the terrorists and neutralised them". The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that it had recovered the bodies. Earlier, in another incident further north, a 16-year-old young man was shot dead by the Israeli army in a refugee camp near Jericho, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

''We Yihia Sinwar can kill him even in February. And we will kill him, sooner or later. But we must bring the hostages home immediately'', former Prime Minister and centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid said today, speaking in Tel Aviv at a crowded demonstration, which has been going on continuously since last night, calling for a decisive initiative by the Netanyahu government that would guarantee the immediate return to Israel of all 136 Israelis still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force began 'a large wave of attacks against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon'. Ynet reported this. According to other media, the raids are taking place north of the Litani river in Lebanon. The attacks come in response to the killing by Hezbollah with an anti-tank rocket of 2 Israelis, mother and son. The latter - the army later announced - was a member of the emergency response team in the village of Kfar Yuval where he was shot with his mother.

Hezbollah will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza. This is what the Lebanese group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a speech today. "We are continuing and our front is inflicting casualties on the enemy and putting pressure on the displaced," Nasrallah further said referring to the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled northern Israel's border areas with Lebanon.

A new US-Gb raid was reported against a Houthi compound in Yemen's Hodeida province. This was reported by Tass.

A new European maritime operation could join the Atalanta mission, which is already operating off the coast of Somalia. This was explained by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on his return from his trip to the Middle East, according to his blog, expressing concern about a possible expansion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to other areas of the region. Borrell cited in this regard the talks held in Saudi Arabia, a country that - he recalled - "is in advanced talks for a peace agreement in Yemen and wants to prevent the conflict in Gaza from jeopardising this prospect". "Even before 7 October," he added, "Saudi Arabia was one of our main partners, along with Jordan, Egypt and the Arab League" also on climate and energy issues. In recent meetings, 'our analyses converged on several critical points: the need for a rapid end to the fighting and the release of hostages, the need to avoid a forced displacement of Palestinians outside the enclave, and the need for a rapid withdrawal of Israeli forces at the end of the conflict,' Borrell concluded.

"It has been 100 days since our loved ones were taken hostage in Gaza. We will not let the world forget them. We will not leave them behind," Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said today as a crowded demonstration in their support has been taking place in a Tel Aviv square since yesterday. "We will not stop until Hamas is defeated. Our army is fighting the most just war in all our history. We are facing a brutal enemy, while we continue to fight according to moral and professional standards, taking measures that distinguish between the civilian population and the terrorists. We will not stop,' he reiterated, 'until we have won.

President Joe Biden is 'frustrated' with Benyamin Netanyahu and 'losing patience'. This was reported by Axios, citing American sources, according to which Netanyahu 'has rejected most of the US administration's demands' on the war in Gaza. The Israeli website Ynet, also quoting Axios, added that Netanyahu 'is dragging out the war for political and personal reasons' and that the release of the abductees 'is not his priority'. The accusations were dismissed by the PM's office, according to which, again quoted by Ynet, Netanyahu "is working in every way for the release of the abductees as ;;quickly as possible."

The French government and ArcelorMittal will invest EUR 1.8 billion (USD 2 billion) on the Dunkirk steel plant to reduce the carbon produced, thus cutting the country's industrial emissions by 6 per cent. This was announced - as reported by international agencies - by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in a meeting with journalists.

srael and Palestine, but also Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Arab League have been invited to the EU Foreign Council meeting convened for 22 January. This was stated by Ur High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell on his blog, on his return from a round of meetings in the Middle East. According to Borrell, 'it is urgent that Europe be involved in the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict', 'in close cooperation with our regional partners'.

"We have to manage this war and it will take many more months". PM Benyamin Netanyahu said this at the Cabinet meeting to approve the state budget for 2024. "That is why," he explained, "we are preparing a war budget that forces us to spend much more on defence than we had anticipated. "We are doing everything," he concluded, "to bring everyone home, these efforts continue continuously.

''US intimidation is not effective, not now, not tomorrow, not ever''. This was stated by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in a speech on live TV 100 days after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. ''It is the Americans who are expanding the war, even as they ask to avoid escalation,'' the Lebanese leader added. ''The Americans threatened Lebanon that if the southern front was not stopped, Israel would launch a war against the country,'' he added.

Iranian journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who reported the death of Mahsa Amini, the young Kurdish woman who died after being arrested because she did not wear her headscarf properly, were released today on bail after 17 months in prison. According to local media, the Court of Appeal agreed to their release on bail of 100 billion rials each, just over 2,000 euro. Hamedi, a photojournalist of the reformist daily Shargh, and Mohammadi, of the reformist daily Ham-Mihan, were sentenced in October to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively for 'connection with a hostile state (the USA)'.

We are not afraid to go to war with Israel, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on TV from an undisclosed location. "It is the Israelis who are afraid to go to war with us. We are always ready," Nasrallah added.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark today formally abdicated, handing over the throne to her son, who becomes King Frederick X. More than one hundred thousand people attended the event, as TV pictures showed. The 83-year-old sovereign signed her abdication declaration at the Council of State at Christiansborg Palace, with her 55-year-old son seated to her right. A small puppet in the shape of a kangaroo appeared in the crowd that cheered her, because the new Queen Mary was born in Hobart, Tasmania (Australia)

The Israeli woman in her 70s who was injured in the Hezbollah attack from Lebanon with an anti-tank rocket against the village of Kfar Yuval in the north of the country has died. This was reported by the media, adding that she was Mira Ayalon, mother of Barak Ayalon, the other person wounded in the attack who also died shortly afterwards. The woman's husband was also wounded in the attack. This brings the toll of the attack by Lebanese Shiite militiamen to 2.

- A Palestinian teenager, Louay al-Sufy, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during clashes in the Ein al-Sultan refugee camp on the outskirts of Jericho. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing medical sources on the spot. The Israeli army has not yet commented on this incident.

Rocket warning sirens from Gaza are sounding in Israeli areas close to the Strip. This was announced by the military spokesman.

Egypt and China call for a ceasefire in Gaza and 'an independent state of Palestine'.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 23,968, 100 days after the start of the Israeli operation following the massacre on 7 October. This was stated by the Hamas-led Health Ministry, adding that 60,582 were injured.

All the hostages that had been held by inmates in Ecuadorian prisons were released last night: 136 people, the prison administration announced in a statement. "Tonight, security protocols and the joint action of the police and the national army allowed the release of all the hostages held in several prisons in the country," the note reads.

The Israeli army announced that it had killed 'four terrorists' who had infiltrated from Lebanon and 'opened fire' on its soldiers last night. According to a note issued by the army, during a patrol 'in the Har Dov sector', Israeli soldiers spotted a 'terrorist cell' that had entered Israeli territory from Lebanon and opened fire' on them. In response, Israeli soldiers killed 'four terrorists'.

"The US State Department's statement on the elections in the Chinese region of Taiwan seriously violates the 'one China' principle, the three joint China-US communiqués, and goes against the US political commitment to maintain only cultural, commercial and unofficial relations with the Taiwan region. It also sends a gravely mistaken signal to separatist forces for 'Taiwan independence'. We strongly deplore and strongly oppose this, and have made serious representations to the US side'. This was stated in a note by a Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman on the day an unofficial US delegation arrived in Taipei. "The Taiwan issue is at the core of China's fundamental interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," the spokesman pointed out, stressing that "the one-China principle is a fundamental norm in international relations and the political foundation of China-US relations. China strongly opposes the US having any form of official interaction with Taiwan and interfering in Taiwan's affairs in any way and under any pretext'.

NEXT TIME / China: 'Taiwan first insurmountable red line'. Unofficial US delegation to the island

Israeli forces arrested Dalal and Fatima al-Arouri, sisters of Hamas number two, Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed earlier this year in a suspected Jewish state raid in Beirut. This was announced by the Israeli army radio, pointing out that the two women were arrested in their homes in al-Bireh and Aroura, in the West Bank.

New attacks by the US and Britain against the Houthis in Yemen. The Pentagon: 30 locations hit with more than 150 bombs and missiles. For the pro-Iranian group, the raids had no impact on the Houthis' ability to continue preventing commercial ships from passing through the Red Sea and then promises a 'strong and effective' response.

Pd and M5S call for an urgent government briefing. Tajani reiterated that 'no pressure has come from the US'. Crosetto: 'We have had no requests to participate in the attacks'.

NEXT TIME / Who are the Houthis

An unofficial US delegation is expected to arrive in Taiwan today. This was confirmed by the 'de-facto' US embassy in Taipei in the aftermath of the elections in Taiwan that saw the success of the Democratic Progressive Party candidate, William Lai, with 40.2% of the vote. Tomorrow, the delegation sent by President Joe Biden's administration will hold talks with "a number of prominent political figures," the American Institute in Taiwan said in a note. According to five people familiar with the plans cited by the Financial Times, the White House has assigned former Democratic Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and former Republican National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley to lead the bipartisan delegation.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan. This was announced by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Almost two years after the large-scale invasion launched by Russia, the future of Ukraine will be the focus of a meeting today in Davos between the government in Kiev and representatives of some 80 countries. The event, focusing on the 'Peace Formula' proposed by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, will be held before the start of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (Wef) in the Swiss resort. Zelensky's 10-point plan, first presented at the end of 2022, calls for the withdrawal of all Russian forces from the occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea, the prosecution of Russian war crimes, reparations and security guarantees. In addition, Russian leaders would be held accountable for their role in the invasion. Moscow rejects the plan and was not invited to the previous meetings. Zelensky is not expected to participate in the fourth round of talks, the last of which took place last October in Malta, but will attend the Wef with the aim of reinforcing the West's support for Kiev. For the past two years, Zelensky has attended the Forum by video conference, but last year his wife Olena went to Davos.

The Israeli army (IDF) has "eliminated a terrorist cell" of 4 men who had infiltrated the territory of the Jewish state from Lebanon at the height of Har Dov. This was announced by the military spokesman, explaining that the soldiers confronted the 4 and returned their fire. During the clash, the army hit the area with artillery and mortar fire.